Day 7: Disco Day
Okay, so a brief interlude out of the land of Disney for a moment, if you will permit. I think it’s worth it. It has all the happy vibes of Disney and, if Disney were going to do marine mammals, I reckon they’d do it something like Discovery Cove anyway. Because we’re creatures of habit, and because it’s amazing, we go every trip. For those of you unaware, Discovery Cove is Sea World’s answer to a tiny slice of a paradise island in the middle of Orlando. The main attraction is the dolphin interaction. You and a small group of other people get to meet a beautiful dolphin, have a couple of cuddles, a little ride, and watch it do some pretty cool behaviours up close and personal. Then you get to spend an obscene amount of money on photos and souvenirs because you’re so buzzed from meeting said dolphin. Or you do if you’re us, anyway (I have 3756272 Discovery Cove tees if anyone wants one). There’s also an aviary, a salt water snorkelling reef thing, a shark encounter, otters, random sloths, a flamingo walk (WHICH IS AMAZING), and everyone’s favourite attraction: the lazy river. It’s also all-inclusive.
We go as a group of nine and, for our Christmas present the year before we all ‘give each other’ a cabana rental. Now this ain’t no ordinary cabana. This is a secluded little private area with a bunch of seating, a hammock, kid’s toys, towels a fridge stocked with soft drinks and alcohol, and snacks. You also used to get a backpack and a soft toy included which we didn’t this time- annoying coz my kid really needs a new swimming kit bag for this year and now I’ll have to give those flipping Paw Patrol pups more of my hard-earned cash. Anyway, here’s a couple of cabana pics: (the fridge pic is pre-alcohol stock- we didn’t go that hard):
Yep the baby is asleep in that stroller. Praise be.
My big tip for DC is to get there at opening. You’ll get to do your dolphin interaction early-ish (i.e. as far away from the super-hot hours as possible), and you also get breakfast, which is worth the early get up. You also beat the crowds (while it is limited numbers, it’s still kinda congested at the entrance) and see the flamingos walk. In case you missed it, I love the flamingo walk. Matt thinks flamingos are just tall, pink ducks, but he’s wrong. They’re amazing.
Our day was fairly chilled out. Unfortunately, the dolphin interaction is not for under-6’s so my little sea creature-loving kid didn’t get to play. But he did love the snorkelling and spent aaaaaages watching the sharks. There was enough for him to be happy and not miss the dolphins too much. It was a hot, hot day for the baby. We were lucky enough to have the cabana to shelter in; I’m not sure it would have been anywhere near as easy on the open beach. There are umbrellas to shade under but… they’re not huge. The little people played in the shaded bit of our sand while Arch napped, and we pretty much stayed until park closing- something we probably wouldn't have been able to do without a chill space.
Oh, and the food here is yummy. There’s plenty of it and it’s all inclusive. The chocolate cake is amazing.
Bottom line (because this is a Disney forum and I’m spending too much time on non-Disney-ness), if you can go to Discovery Cove, it’s a wonderful day.
Okay, so a brief interlude out of the land of Disney for a moment, if you will permit. I think it’s worth it. It has all the happy vibes of Disney and, if Disney were going to do marine mammals, I reckon they’d do it something like Discovery Cove anyway. Because we’re creatures of habit, and because it’s amazing, we go every trip. For those of you unaware, Discovery Cove is Sea World’s answer to a tiny slice of a paradise island in the middle of Orlando. The main attraction is the dolphin interaction. You and a small group of other people get to meet a beautiful dolphin, have a couple of cuddles, a little ride, and watch it do some pretty cool behaviours up close and personal. Then you get to spend an obscene amount of money on photos and souvenirs because you’re so buzzed from meeting said dolphin. Or you do if you’re us, anyway (I have 3756272 Discovery Cove tees if anyone wants one). There’s also an aviary, a salt water snorkelling reef thing, a shark encounter, otters, random sloths, a flamingo walk (WHICH IS AMAZING), and everyone’s favourite attraction: the lazy river. It’s also all-inclusive.
We go as a group of nine and, for our Christmas present the year before we all ‘give each other’ a cabana rental. Now this ain’t no ordinary cabana. This is a secluded little private area with a bunch of seating, a hammock, kid’s toys, towels a fridge stocked with soft drinks and alcohol, and snacks. You also used to get a backpack and a soft toy included which we didn’t this time- annoying coz my kid really needs a new swimming kit bag for this year and now I’ll have to give those flipping Paw Patrol pups more of my hard-earned cash. Anyway, here’s a couple of cabana pics: (the fridge pic is pre-alcohol stock- we didn’t go that hard):
Yep the baby is asleep in that stroller. Praise be.
My big tip for DC is to get there at opening. You’ll get to do your dolphin interaction early-ish (i.e. as far away from the super-hot hours as possible), and you also get breakfast, which is worth the early get up. You also beat the crowds (while it is limited numbers, it’s still kinda congested at the entrance) and see the flamingos walk. In case you missed it, I love the flamingo walk. Matt thinks flamingos are just tall, pink ducks, but he’s wrong. They’re amazing.
Our day was fairly chilled out. Unfortunately, the dolphin interaction is not for under-6’s so my little sea creature-loving kid didn’t get to play. But he did love the snorkelling and spent aaaaaages watching the sharks. There was enough for him to be happy and not miss the dolphins too much. It was a hot, hot day for the baby. We were lucky enough to have the cabana to shelter in; I’m not sure it would have been anywhere near as easy on the open beach. There are umbrellas to shade under but… they’re not huge. The little people played in the shaded bit of our sand while Arch napped, and we pretty much stayed until park closing- something we probably wouldn't have been able to do without a chill space.
Oh, and the food here is yummy. There’s plenty of it and it’s all inclusive. The chocolate cake is amazing.
Bottom line (because this is a Disney forum and I’m spending too much time on non-Disney-ness), if you can go to Discovery Cove, it’s a wonderful day.
